The Lovely Month of May

We have had a fabulous week of spring weather here, lots of clear skies and sun but a little nip in the air.  We traveled down to East Hampton on Thursday to celebrate Cinqo de Mayo with Paula and Ann.  We had a fabulous array of delicious Mexican specialties from La Fondita and a relaxing ride home on the ferries.  Pete and I spent the weekend in the garden and shopping for a few new plants.  We cleaned up the grill and cooked out for the first time on Sunday.

Mother's Day was fun.  Clara, my reason for celebrating Mother's Day,  couldn't be here, but she called.  Pete took me out to breakfast and then we went for a ride to buy some freshly picked asparagus for dinner.  He showered me with gifts, too: chocolates (yum!), a pretty pale purple verbena for the garden, some seeds, and some lavender soap.  The little boy across the street brought me purple lilacs.  I only have white ones since the renovation (we had to tear out 2 purple lilacs to make room for the addition.)  So I felt pretty special all day long.

I worked for a woman once who insisted Mother's Day was created by Hallmark to sell cards.  She obviously never had a child and never spent 6 years driving her child an hour to and an hour from swim practice five times a week (Sometimes I can't believe I did that . . . ).    Mother's Day was actually started by suffragette and abolitionist Julia Ward Howe, who also wrote one of my all time favorite songs, The Battle Hymn of the Republic (don't ask me why -- I am as un-religious as you can get, but the words always move me).  In 1870 she wrote Mothers Day Proclamation, a reaction to the horrors of the Civil War, calling women to become more active members of society and to strive for peace.  Frankly, I think women's rights and women's work are as important to celebrate as Labor Day or Memorial Day . . .   Who cares if Hallmark makes a buck or two?

 

I'm doing more gardening than hooking or blogging it seems, but that will change -- Barb and I have another show coming up soon.  More about that later.  I hope you all are enjoying spring as much as I am.